Amid ongoing economic tensions between Canada and the United States, a survey released Thursday shows patience is wearing thin among Canadians, with almost 80 per cent disapproving of the current leadership in that country.
The survey, conducted by Gallup in May and June of 2025, shows Canadians have a 15 per cent approval rating for the U.S. leadership — the lowest U.S. President Donald Trump has received, and down from 17 per cent in 2020 and 16 per cent in 2018 during his first term.
The Gallup World Poll, which started in 2005, measures the attitudes, behaviour and well-being of people across more than 140 countries.
Of the five major global powers in the study, Canadians’ disapproval rating of the U.S. (79 per cent) fell roughly in line with that of Russia (82 per cent) and was worse than that of China (64 per cent).
Meanwhile, a 54 per cent majority of Canadians approve of Germany’s leadership, which was the highest positive rating among major global powers this year.
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The survey also shows a longer-term trend since 2017, except for a spike in 2021, that only a minority of Canadians approve of the U.S. administration each year.
Gallup says the trend is consistent with changes in U.S. administrations, and cites an average 61 per cent approval rating of Washington by Canadians under former president Barack Obama, 19 per cent in Trump’s first term, and 41 per cent under former president Joe Biden.
Trump has imposed repeated rounds of steep tariffs on Canada since coming into office in January and has frequently suggested Canada should become the “51st state.”
The Gallup survey is the latest of several recent polls, which show Canadians are frustrated amid the trade war uncertainty.
Another poll conducted in June by Ipsos, exclusively for Global News, found roughly three-quarters of Canadians intend to avoid travel to the U.S., which is up 10 per cent since February. This sentiment has also been demonstrated in data released by Statistics Canada.
The Ipsos poll also found nearly three-quarters of Canadians are avoiding buying goods that are made in the U.S., and are buying more Canadian-made goods wherever possible.
Meanwhile, Canadians may be feeling more optimistic about their own leadership as of late, according to the Gallup poll, with a 59 per cent approval rating in 2025 — up 19 per cent from the previous year.
This follows Mark Carney replacing Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister.
Carney is still working on a new trade deal with the U.S. as tariffs rise, but said that he will only accept a deal that is “good for Canada.”
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